18 Samh 2013, 13:58
The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine will tomorrow consider the Marine Institute’s 2011 Annual Report and Coillte’s 2012 Annual Report with representatives from both state bodies.
18 November 2013
The Marine Institute is the national agency responsible for marine research and development, while Coillte is responsible for the management of some 442,000 hectares of State forestry.
Chairman of the Committee Andrew Doyle TD says: “Our Committee has an important oversight role in relation to state bodies and tomorrow's meeting will provide an opportunity to separately question the Marine Institute and Coillte on their annual reports.
“The Marine Institute seeks to unleash the economic potential of Ireland's vast marine resource in a sustainable manner. We look forward to hearing from the Institute’s representatives on their annual report for 2011 which covers their activities in providing expertise on managing a sea area that’s ten times Ireland’s land area.
“Separately, Committee Members will be keen to hear from Coillte on its financial performance in 2012. The company made an operating profit of €35 million and returned a €2 million dividend to the state. Exporting products to 32 countries, it generated revenues of €11 million on new product lines. The Committee will be also keen to explore the company’s approach to the sustainability of the state’s forests, in a manner which recognises their social and environmental benefits.
The meeting takes place tomorrow Tuesday 19 November at 2 pm in Committee Room 3 LH 2000 and can be viewed online here.
View Committee Membership.
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Paul Hand,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +353 1 618 4484
M: +353 87 694 9926